Essay Sample on The Movie Review of Undertow (Contracorriente)

The movie Undertow (Contracorriente) is a 2009 movie written and directed by Javier Fuentes-Leon. It runs for about 100 minutes and generally falls under the genre of mystery & Suspense genre. More specifically, the movie is an LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) film. Undertow (Contracorriente) is set in a small Peruvian village. The movie is about a young man named Miguel (his real name is Cristian Mercado) who is involved in a love triangle. He is married to a woman named Mariela (her real name is Tatiana Astengo) and they are expecting their first child. On the other hand, Miguel is in a love affair with a man named Santiago (his real name is Manolo Cardona) and he endeavors to keep this relationship a secret since the society does not approve of it. Miguel finds himself between a rock and a hard place as he wants to fulfill the demands of the society by being married to Mariela and, at the same time, satisfy his body's pleasures by being in a relationship with Santiago. Finally, he is torn between divulging the truth and having the spirit of the late Santiago to torment him.

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The movie presents a society in which traditions and cultural orientations are more important than human desire and expectations. The people in this small village are deeply entrenched in traditions. According to them, a man has to be in a relationship with a woman, not another man. This can be likened to the advocates of ancient sexualities who claimed that one marriage ought to provide the necessary companionship for a man and if he gets into an extramarital affair, then that should be regarded as adultery (Tannahill & Tannahill, 1980). Miguel's relationship with Santiago is, therefore, illicit and adulterous according to such standards. When the villagers learn about the relationship after seeing his nude photos and paintings in Santiago's house, they openly ostracize him. His wife is so much affected that she feels like leaving him forever despite the fact that she has his child. This brings out the aspect of a society that cannot accept a bisexual individual. In as much as Miguel tries hard to show love to his wife, and only meets Santiago secretly, this is not enough. The society in the movie rejects this behavior. The only recognized kind of relationship is the one between a man and a woman.

The society in which the movie is set is also entrenched in the belief that the only acceptable sex is male and female. Any other sexuality is unacceptable and embarrassing. The indigenous North American society seems to have had such opinions too. According to Slater and Yarbrough (2012), there were womanish men generally referred to as berdaches who were regarded with disgust, bewilderment, and outrage by the traditionalists. Although some preferred the company of other men, these men behaved like women but some of them were heterosexual and had children (Slater & Yarbrough, 2012). They were, therefore, variously referred to using derogatory terms such as sodomites and male prostitutes. The terms aimed at embarrassing them. In the movie, Miguel feels so ashamed of himself for being bisexual that he has to hide his gay relationship from both his wife and the wider society. This may be what prompts the film writer to involve the spirit of Santiago. After the death of Santiago who accidentally falls into the sea, his spirit haunts Miguel. Surprisingly, Miguel seems rather comfortable in the company of Santiago's spirit yet when he was alive, the two used to treat each other as near strangers in public. They only communicated and met secretly. In their secluded meetings, the two were in very high spirits, and this demonstrates how comfortable they were with each other as they wished that such freedom of association should not be curtailed by the society.

Additionally, the movie brings out a society that punishes those who decide to go against the entrenched worldviews. Apart from the ostracism that Miguel faces in this society, he is bullied. The wife forces him to confess, and when he does, she goes back to her mother. The society seems to already judge Miguel as guilty and hails Mariela for abandoning Miguel. This kind of society can be likened to the Roman society that had laws encouraging the penalization of any male who attempted to seduce their male counterpart. Those who would be found guilty were sentenced to capital punishment while those found having attempted to do it were to be exiled to a faraway island according to one jurist named Paulus (Hallet et al., 1997). This demonstrates the seriousness with which gays were treated. In this movie, both Miguel and Santiago know too well that their relationship is illicit and it explains why they have to keep it a top secret. The villagers cannot understand. Finally, he is forced to claim Santiago's body and tearfully buries it properly at sea. However, Santiago's spirit still shows up and caresses him. Perhaps the filmmaker's intention of mixing the supernatural and the real world is to bring the harsh society back to its senses. That although the society rejects certain individual orientations, there will still be a way out. Miguel feels more confident with Santiago's spirit, and even walks with it and touches it in public.

In my opinion, the movie almost resonates with my belief that a time comes when an individual must come to terms with their true self. It does not matter for how long an individual wears a facade because one day, the truth has to come out in the open. Unfortunately, it is the society that forces people to wear facades. In this movie, Miguel has to live a very difficult life, courtesy of the society in which he lives. He is gay, and the society rejects this kind of sexuality. He, therefore, gets married to Mariela so as to please the society and paint the image of a perfect and socially acceptable man. However, he suffers intrinsically as he has to pretend to be a stranger to Santiago in public yet they share erotic moments in secret. This movie makes me view the society in which it is set as quite unfair in the treatment given to those who choose a different path despite it being a controversial topic in the contemporary society (Fejes, 2016). It raises issues that can be used to understand the pains that gay people go through despite having rights like any other person. I was particularly surprised by the sensitivity with which Javier Fuentes-Leon peels the character of Miguel. It is so tactful that the viewer ends up liking instead of hating Miguel and finally sympathizes with him. The society is the one that ends up being seemingly unfair.

In conclusion, several issues are brought out in the movie Undertow (Contracorriente) by Javier Fuentes-Leon. Apart from highlighting a society that is deeply entrenched in tradition, the filmmaker brings out pertinent issues regarding LGBT that needs to be addressed so that they do not have to clog the gains beneficial to the 21st century and future generations. Punishing and ostracizing those who choose a path that is different from the conventional one may not be the solution to the problems riddling humanity. Miguel may have had a more fulfilling life if his society understood that his needs are different. Therefore, understanding that people are different and educating them on the pros and cons of each behavior may work better than forcing them to wear facades.

References

Fejes, F. (2016). Gay rights and moral panic: The origins of America's debate on homosexuality. Springer.

Hallett, J. P., Skinner, M. B., & Skinner, M. (Eds.). (1997). Roman sexualities. Princeton University Press.

Tannahill, R., & Tannahill, R. (1980). Sex in history (p. 357). New York: Stein and Day.

Slater, S., & Yarbrough, F. A. (Eds.). (2012). Gender and sexuality in indigenous North America, 1400-1850. University of South Carolina Press.